Dear RUSA Members:
June is finally here and I am looking forward to seeing many of you in Anaheim at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference. Our conference program lineup is outstanding this year – they promise to be fun and interesting, while covering topics from the ROI of virtual reference services and mining gold from the 1940 census to implementing a checklist for resource-sharing and creating academic and public library partnerships for readers’ advisory. For the complete lineup, see our website.
Our wonderful business reference section, BRASS, has a very worthwhile preconference this year. If you have an interest in the world of business reference, are a new business librarian or would like to master the knowledge and resources needed for business reference questions, then Mastering Business Acumen (MBA) in a Day: Business Concepts for Library Reference, Friday, June 22, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., is for you. More information and a link to registration can be found here.
One of the most frequent comments from members in our last membership survey was the request to have more free special events. You spoke and we listened: this year our wonderful Literary Tastes author event will be free for all. We have some great authors lined up:
- Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus
- Candice Millard, author of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President
- Mark Adams, author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time
- Russell Banks, author of Lost Memory of Skin
Join us on Sunday, 8-10a.m., Anaheim Convention Center, Room 204B to help celebrate some of the best reading and authors of the year and hear the authors talk about the craft of writing. Add the event to your conference schedule.
Also, don’t miss our Achievement Awards Ceremony and Reception, Sunday, June 24, 2012, 5-6:30p.m., Disney Grand Californian, Sequoia South Ballroom D and help us honor RUSA’s 2012 achievement award winners. Add the event to your calendar now!
If you’re new to RUSA or are a longtime member looking for opportunities to connect with members and ways to get involved, make sure to put RUSA 101 on your calendar! Spend an hour with us on Friday, June 22, 3-4p.m. in the Oceanside Room at the Hilton Anaheim before heading off to the opening of the exhibit floor. Not joining us in Anaheim? Online sessions will be offered in the weeks before Annual! Get all the RUSA 101 details here.
Last but not least, please join us for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Awards Ceremony, Sunday, June 24, 2012, 8-10p.m. This reception, co-sponsored by RUSA and Booklistwill be the inaugural event for these awards – don’t miss it! Past members of the CODES’ Notable Books Council served on this committee, and after a whirlwind of reading on a tight deadline, made some great selections. Take a look at the shortlist finalists here and add them to your summer reading list if you haven’t yet read them. Tickets are $25 for RUSA members, and $30 for all others. More information is on the conference special events page, and you can register now on the Annual Conference registration page.
Make sure to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned to the RUSA blog for updates leading up to, and during the conference.
Best Wishes,
Susan Hornung
Executive Director, RUSA